Royal Philatelic Society London celebrates Scottish postal history

Malcolm Fenning (left), receives a plaquette from Frank Walton, president of the Royal Philatelic Society London.

By Colin Sallee

1. Celebrating Scottish stamps

A presentation from the Royal Philatelic Society London Oct. 29 was based around Scottish postal history from the years 1591 to 1711.

Society member Malcolm Fenning based his presentation on three categories of postal history: privately carried letters, Burgh Posts, and organized posts.

He focused on the development of the organized posts under King James VI.

“King James VI of Scotland (King James I of England) extended the post road between London and Berwick to Edinburgh, the King’s Post being available to the public from 1635. During the 1660s the post roads in Scotland branched out to Glasgow, Ayr and Port Patrick, and to Aberdeen and Inverness.”

2. 1843 Double Geneva discovery coming to auction

Featured in Corinphila Auctions' upcoming sale is an 1843 cover from Geneva to Troinex (a distance of about 6 kilometers) identified by Corinphila as a new discovery of the earliest documented use of the 10-centime “Doppelgenf” or Double Geneva.